lavendercloud

Singsalot: totally forgot to congratulate you on your NYU interview! I didn't realize that they don't have production opportunities. I know some programs produce only select student work rather than guaranteeing productions, but at least in that circumstance you'd have a chance. What is the funding like? It doesn't bode well if there's both poor funding and no productions. I also know that, at least up to a couple years ago, NYU was very administratively disorganized, which can cost the students outside opportunities they might otherwise get. Vent away, that's what we're here for!

How did the UT interview go? And you're hearing from UCSD in a few weeks? Did you already visit? I'M SO CURIOUS TELL ME EVERYTHING And Tate, are there any schools you're waiting on? I get wishing you'd applied to more...I did 7, but my original list was 11 and I'd feel better now if there were more maybes out there.

Got the Yale rejection too - I think it's exactly the same as last year's. Heard from MFA Draft fb group that UCLA rejections have started rolling out, but my status hasn't yet been updated. Iowa and UCSD sites both tell me they're still under review as well.

Many schools will accept GRE scores up to a few weeks after the deadline. If it's not too late to apply then it's not too late to take the GRE.

I have lots and lots of info about national internships, many of which are funded and include housing, but if you're looking to stay local I'm probably not much help. Check out DC (Studio Theatre, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre, CENTERSTAGE in Baltimore), Philadelphia (Walnut Street, Arden), Hartford Stage, Huntington, ACT in SF...there are lots and lots of great internships out there. PM me your email and I can unleash lots of info on you. I interviewed with most of those theaters and never got one of those top-tier internships, but they're worth a shot and the deadlines are coming up quickly (3/1 to 4/1 for the majority). It's tough to move somewhere new for a one-year opportunity but you will make tons of connections (probably as many as you would in 3 years in grad school given the number of professional actors and directors you'll work with, not to mention literary managers, artistic directors, and dramaturgs). And you may get an opportunity to stay on for another year, or find another job in that city. Cardinal: I can totally see why low-res appeals to you. It's such a personal decision and I think it could be very personally enriching to pursue the degree. If the money stress is going to outweigh the benefit - like, if you're currently panicking at the thought of taking out those loans - then you should probably pass. Talk to some graduates of those programs and see if that helps.

@SeaLou: In undergrad, I double-majored in theater and English. I've done fiction writing and I thought about becoming a freelance content writer, but lost interest pretty quickly. I'm also an excellent editor but haven't yet turned that into income. @Tate: I've been out of college nearly 4 years. The first 3, I received a fellowship from my undergrad institution that helped me do an unpaid apprenticeship the first year and unpaid internship the next, and I was living with my ex who helped me out with other expenses. I also got EBT (food stamps) for most of that time. Then I moved again for a paid internship, so last year I had the income from both that and the fellowship. When I didn't get into grad school last year the theater decided to extend my internship for another year but to make it part-time, so my actual hours worked reflect closer to $10/hr than the $5/hr I was making last year (pre-taxes). But given the move, a breakup, and reaching the end of the fellowship funding, it's been much more of a struggle the past year to make ends meet, and I've run up some debt that's not easy to tackle on my current income. I'm actually starting another job for the theater tomorrow - I'll be working in the small restaurant/concessions business they run during shows. I won't get a ton of shifts, but it's something. Hopefully patching together some other part-time income over the next few months. I have lots of experience in childcare and teaching, and briefly did some housekeeping for a couple families at one point. I don't have experience in retail or much in food service so a lot of the typical options have been tough to gain traction with, and I only got my driver's license about a year and a half ago, so I was pretty limited before that. The other part-time career I've considered is teaching yoga, but I don't have the money for a teacher training so I was holding off, and now I think I'm more interested in pursuing graphic design. I think it'd be pretty awesome to be able to do promotional materials for my own plays, too! Theater education also has some interesting positions and options and I'm pretty well-prepared for that given my current position. I'm actually teaching a weeklong residency for 40 girls next month, ages 12-16. Think that's gonna be equal parts wonderful and utterly exhausting... My Ohio interview will be Monday morning, and I've continued to get solicitations from the LMDA listserv, which is pretty exciting! Any advice? I'm trying not to be nervous but I don't want to get my hopes up again like last year with UCSD :/ Guess I'm just hoping that if I'm a good fit for the program things will work out. Wish I knew anything about the schools y'all are asking about!! It's still only February - most schools are far from done with their processes.

I'm primarily a playwright, so I don't have a host of other options to fall back on if this whole thing doesn't work out for me, or to help me pay off loans if I take on more debt. I've been interning at theaters since college so I haven't yet held a "real job" (i.e. full-time with salary, benefits, or even minimum wage), nor have I had any help from family to pay for education or living expenses since high school. If I were in a different situation I can certainly see the benefit of investing in an MFA, but as it is, my primary reasons for going are to have 3 years to focus on my writing more and worry about money less, and to learn through production of my work. I guess my suggestion would be that, if you're making an extra $10k a year that you can afford to invest in one of those programs, I bet it could be very worthwhile and probably more helpful than a lot of piecemeal workshops and classes over a three-year period, especially if you have to hustle 5x more to get anything produced. But if you're talking about taking on loans...how are you going to pay those off? Do you anticipate your income going up significantly after you get an MFA? How? How long would it take you to pay them off on your current salary? And what are your alternatives for becoming a better writer and making more contacts in theater? Anyway, your original question was about reputation - I've heard really positive things about Hollins and I know it's on the list to submit to the Alliance/Kendeda award (http://alliancetheatre.org/content/submit-your-work) while I haven't heard of Nebraska and it's not on that list. Not to knock on Nebraska as it sounds like it's great for Zissou's friend, just a note about reputation since it sounds like that's important to you. On another note, I am thinking of developing new skills that would help me get a real job, or to freelance in the theater world - currently I'm really interested in graphic design. What do the rest of you do when you're not writing plays?

I don't know about Nebraska but isn't Hollins about $10k a year for several years? That's certainly less than full-residency programs but still a lot. Is either program offering scholarships? What are you hoping to get out of an MFA? Would you be paying outright or taking out loans?

Barista, Singsalot, and genericincognito...hang in there! You've still waiting on some great programs and I'm guessing that Ohio is still up in the air even if you got that email. Sounds like they're trying to keep applicants informed and the part you quoted sounds a lot like what he told me. Here's the whole text: "Thank you for your application to the MFA Playwriting Program at Ohio University. We have received your materials and appreciate your interest in our program. "I've reviewed your materials and think you have a strong application. I’d like to speak with you about your work and answer any questions you may have about our program. Is there a time we could talk? Either this week or next? "Hope you’re well and best of luck in finding a program that suits your needs." Since he hasn't gotten back to me to schedule an interview yet, I'm guessing they're still working their way through contacting people. They may do another round of phone interviews with other applicants - if they're not doing visits they don't really have to commit to a shortlist. For me it's down to Ohio and Iowa at this point, as UCLA seems to have done interviews and I didn't make the shortlist at UCSD, though I'm not counting those two *completely* out until I get an actual rejection (unlike Yale for which I'm obviously out of the running). And the more I look at and hear about Ohio, I'm getting really excited about it - but I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch, because that led to a lot of heartache last year. "Brutal" is definitely the right word about this process. Up until yesterday I was pretty much resigned to giving up on grad school altogether... O_O

Zissou: PM sent. I agree about dramaturgs. They're amazing and the world should have more of them.

@grad_wannabe: Congrats!! So far I have just one interview and it's in the Midwest, not close to anywhere my boyfriend might be going, and the only school I might still be in the running for is also in the Midwest. But I'm feeling good about things and hoping for the best for both of us!

Zissou: thanks for the update! I was guessing that Yale had already scheduled interviews but just needed confirmation. And I'm not even upset because I woke up to one of the most ridiculous, unexpected emails of my life, from an agent who wants to read my play. Basically what happened is that my play was being discussed on the LMDA listserv (mainly by two dramaturgs I've worked with), which is how yesterday's solicitations came about, so he got in touch to find out if I'm looking for representation and...WTF I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START HOW IS THIS EVEN HAPPENING. And my recommender, who has wonderful things to say about Ohio, put me in touch with the Alliance/Kendeda winner who went there, so we're going to talk soon and he can answer any questions I have about the program. The phone interview still hasn't been scheduled, and it looks like Ohio doesn't typically fly out candidates for a visit, but I'll keep y'all updated for sure! Keeping my fingers crossed for all of you too!

Thanks, Singsalot! Btw mcw98, I asked my friend about Juilliard and I'm still waiting to hear back - I'll let you know what he says.

Thanks, all! And I just got another awesome email involving the solicitation of my script...hoping for good things coming my way. How cool would it be if my play gets produced?!

INTERVIEW WITH OHIO WOOOOOOOOOOOOO Seriously guys ONE PIECE OF GOOD NEWS! I'm excited! Got an email from Charles Smith this morning asking to schedule a phone interview. Anyone else apply to Ohio U?

I'm in a similar boat, having gotten my second official rejection from Playwriting MFA programs and finding out I'm not shortlisted at the program where I was a finalist last year. I know it isn't a final statement about my abilities and that not getting picked by an exclusive club doesn't mean I'm incapable of pursuing the career I want. But it still sucks balls. So I could certainly use some cheering up...

Got it too. The letter didn't rub me the wrong way, but yeah, of course a personal letter would feel better. And more reasonable application fees... Anyway, Singsalot, I'm right with you. I was really thinking this would be my year for Brown so it certainly feels like a blow, especially after hearing from my friend how wonderful it is and having been told repeatedly what a great fit I am for their program. But yeah, time to face the facts and move on. Here's to my remaining applications! Anyone else read this? http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/18/theater/mac-wellman-a-playwriting-mentor-whose-only-mantra-is-oddity.html?_r=1

I just think that if they publish the average and you're below that, that's something to be concerned about. I don't know about the specific program you're applying to. For many graduate schools it's the school itself, and not the program, that cares about GREs - but it sounds like this program does care about GREs, and you know your score isn't representative of your capabilities. It certainly can't hurt to retake it.

Barista: sorry to hear about Michener! Yeah, it's kind of awful how impersonal they are... I'd guess that Juilliard doesn't consider recs until the second round of reading applications, but I don't know much about it. I know a couple people who have done it (one recently, one in the 90s - the latter is one of my recommenders) so I can toss questions their way if there's anything people urgently need to know.

It doesn't sound great to have both quantitative and verbal scores well below the average. If your deadlines are coming up, see if they'll accept new GRE scores after the deadline. Basically, I guess what you have to weigh is whether you want to study quickly, pay again for the test and hope your scores can still count, or risk waiting an extra year in case your scores cost you.

Starsandsound: that's awesome! Tate: your question seems very simple to answer, but apparently isn't! I caved and finally bugged my friends. I checked in with my friend at Yale now, who flew out to visit Brown around the same time two years ago when he interviewed at both. I remembered him finding out soon after getting back from Brown that he was in. So he confirmed that Brown does interviews. However, my friend in her first year at Brown says that they do NOT, which she said makes it even more nerve-wracking. She also said that Erik is out of town for a week and a half right now, probably doing second-round application reads, which is probably why we haven't heard anything...but there have been no decisions yet. Hope that helps, guys! Don't lose hope for either school!

Princess: Congrats on the conference! I use pwcenter.org (paid membership required) and comb through a lot of other sites for development opportunities. Always helpful to be on newsletter lists for any development organizations that interest you. Nightbird: I think the third year is usually a full-scale production at most schools. Few of the two-year programs afford such opportunities. For me, a big part of going to grad school is getting all that production experience, so a two-year program might not be as useful. I also think that since I'm likely to only get one MFA, I'd like to maximize the amount of time I have getting paid to write so that I can graduate with as many finished plays as possible. I said last year that if I didn't get in I'd consider two-year programs on my second round, and I didn't; but if I end up with a third round of applications, I'll certainly add a few to my list (though I think I'd take at least a year off applying in the meantime). Brooklyn, with Mac Wellman, keeps being recommended to me as well as Hunter College and I'd be a fool to leave them off my list the next time around. I also have a friend at Carnegie Mellon right now so I'll check in with him and find out how it's going.

As far as I know, you can make payments even when you're in deferment. Paying just the interest is generally much less than the full minimum payment you'd be paying if your loans were not deferred. Four years out of undergrad, I still owe as much on my unsubsidized loan as I took out to begin with thanks to that compound interest at 6.5%. Whether or not your loans are deferred you can also do income-based repayment which will result in you owing very little (often $0) but having the option to pay as well - in which case, PAY THE INTEREST whenever you can, and don't do what I did when I was a broke recent grad and paid nothing.

Here's my two cents: if you take an unsubsidized loan, plan on paying the interest while you're in school instead of deferring the loan completely. I don't think they're worth taking out unless you need to pay off credit cards and can't borrow money from family. Learning to live within your means is important and if you're committing to a life of academia, the sooner you learn to do so the better!

Starsandsound: Smith sounds great! I'd love to go back to the Pioneer Valley, where I did my undergrad...I just wish they had more funding. And is it a two-year program, or three? Barista: yeah, needing developed plays for development opportunities feels a lot to me like needing a highly-polished play to get into an MFA program. I mean...what? Isn't the idea to learn? But it's just so competitive that the people who might benefit the most are less likely to get the chance. That's definitely what I found with season-long internship applications out of college. There was one I didn't get when I applied for the fall after I graduated. A couple years later, I reapplied for it. An intern mis-typed my email when they sent the interview offer, so I never got it, and I got in touch about a month later to find out if I was still being considered. They were profusely apologetic about the fact that they'd just offered the position to someone else, and told me that the internships tend to go to recent graduates anyway...so yeah, long story short, each year that whole process has been like WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO GET A JOB THAT I PROBABLY CAN'T EVEN LIVE ON?! (But yeah, my blood still boils over that misspelled email and the fact that they didn't bother calling me and just assumed I wasn't interested.) I think waitlists & alternative lists vary a lot with these programs. With UCSD, there probably aren't many people turning it down, so there isn't much of a chance that they'll move down the list. I think there's some sense of these programs being mildly in touch with each other and checking in with students to feel out how likely they are to take an offer before making one, but that's not always the case, either. Tate: Exactly - I've been holding off on those programs until after grad school, and most of the deadlines will be after I hear back from schools, so I've got time to decide. I'm also lusting over the Lark Jerome New York Fellowship...it looks amazing! Unfortunately it's only for MN or NY residents. I might check in about my eligibility; I went to high school in MN and my folks still live there. But I haven't actually been a resident since 2011. Are Yale and Brown your remaining schools? I'm going kinda crazy too. Doesn't help that my boyfriend is in the exact same boat - he applied to Political Science PhD programs and our only school in common is Yale and we'd both really like to know if there's any chance we'll end up in the same vicinity....